


Tales of Ush and Loto

by 00_noximilien



Series: Tales of Ush and Loto [1]
Category: Wakfu
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, During Canon, F/M, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29043795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00_noximilien/pseuds/00_noximilien
Summary: The naive and cheerful Lotus is a clumsy young Huppermage, hungry for adventure and discoveries once she completed her first cycle at the Huppermage Academy. Ush is an Ecaflip with amnesia and with no recollection of his past.After a fateful encounter, the two decide to embark on a journey to find Ush's lost memories.
Relationships: Lotus / Ush Galesh
Series: Tales of Ush and Loto [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130756
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

What she really sought, was adventure.

  
The wind ruffling her hair, laughter lost in the air. Wilderness brushing against her skin as she ran for miles and miles, and the campfires, the stories, the traveling and the discoveries made together. To look at the stars on an empty night where it would have been just her, the cosmos, and someone else.

Maybe it was a romanticized version of it, and maybe she had read one too many books instead of focusing on her schoolwork. But she just wasn’t able to focus, not when fantasies reigned free in her mind.

_**“ Miss Zolar! ”** _

However, the resounding clap of old Sister Polair’s wooden ruler against her equally wooden desk was enough to pull her out of it. Purplish hues shoot open and away from the window as Lotus stares at her teacher – her very old, unnerved teacher, who speaks in such a high tone when she screams she’s pretty sure the whole class is losing a little bit of hearing.

“Are we perhaps troubling you in your daily reverie? What do you think you’re doing?” Lotus opens her mouth as to speak. She is immediately cut off. “There is a good answer, and a bad answer, child.”

It takes her some time to come up with a stupid excuse. As per usual. Glancing around the classroom, she can see each and every student staring right back at her – some seemed worried, others just curious. A few were snickering, too.

“Well,” she starts, with the confidence of someone with no guilt nor shame whatsoever, because she did have to look at least convincing after all, “I was just thinking that we should open the windows a bit, to enjoy the Quadramental Breeze, wouldn’t you think Sister Polair.”

“You do realize that not only this entire structure is located in the middle of the clouds, but also it is pouring outside, miss Zolar.” Her teacher’s absolutely jaded look was accompanied by a few distant giggles from her classmates. “That’s enough for today. Class dismissed.”

She collects her books slowly, closes the notebook she had been haphazardly doodling on for the past half an hour – right under texts and notes she had written for ten minutes, signifying that she did try to pay attention. Mathematics just wasn’t her thing … And so wasn’t potion-making, proven by the fact that she caused yet another explosion this week. Or beast riding, last Thursday, when her Dragon Turkey decided to gallop to the middle of the library. Lotus was a disaster. A part of her accepted it, while the other still wanted to prove herself wrong. But at the end of the day, her clumsiness always got the best of her.

And so, sheepishly, she goes to the library. She pushes on the enormous door keeping it closed, and peers inside the empty room. Of course, it was empty, the day was almost over, few were those that would have preferred to read instead of going back home, if they had the time to leave early. She steps inside, walks to the front desk, keeping her bag close to her.

“Ki-Adi-Dedir-Ardi, sir? Hello!” He hushes her, and she goes to stand on the tip of her toes, the desk a bit too tall for her. “Can I get the book I was reading last time? I haven’t finished it yet.”

“Ah, yes, welcome back … Tell me, which was it again ?” He touches his beard, contemplating. Her answer is quick. “Heroes and Legends, sir. You know, the one with the Iop going on a quest for the six Dofus ...”

He handed down the huge tome to her, and off she went. She always had her favorite spot at the library. In one of the farthest corners, between two gigantic shelves, surrounded with other books of the novel's sections. And she could have stayed there for hours, and hours, and hours, reading about these character’s adventures in the realms. Running through the fields of Amakna and climbing the highest mountains, defeating any monsters or enemies in their path, and making friends along the way.

This was exactly what she wanted.

“We may have lost. But you still have to respect your end of the bargain, Ush. Turn my brother back to normal.”

The Ecaflip simply glanced back in response. Of course, Smisse was not in the mood to beat around the bush, not when it came to this. “You do realize that you have failed, don’t you ? Why would failure deserve any form of payment?”

“We had a deal,” he growled back. “And you’re not about to pull a fast one on me, not again. Not after so many years.”

This gave Ush the strength back to smirk. Of course this wasn’t going to erase the harsh defeat he just went through, nor the fact that he had lost the Eliatrope Dofuses. But it made him feel in control, and that was enough for him. For now. “Fine. You do seem to want it bad. Let us go back to Bonta, and ...”

Remington’s warning was the last thing he heard before being struck. Bewildered eyes stared at a shadow towering over him, and in a swift move, his body went flying. Then pain went from his head to his back to the rest of his body, and when he fell, dark settled in, he felt nothing at all anymore.

His eyes open, vision blurry, to cold and rain and the immensity of the world. Everything is huge and dancing before his eyes, the ringing in his ears is still strong. Nothing makes sense to him, and his eyelids are heavy, and he has no fight in him left, no strength, nothing at all, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he even tries to groan.  
This is it. This is how it ends.  
And, as he falls back into slumber, he goes completely limb once more.

“Are you enjoying your book?” The librarian’s old and gentle voice pulls her out of her perusal. “A lot,” answer Lotus, rather joyful, paying attention to the old mage while her eyes couldn’t help but come back to the pages. “Good, because I just came here to tell you that classes are over and that the library – ”

That was enough for her to let out a small scream as she gathered her things. “I’m gonna be so late!!” The brunette started to run out.  
“NO RUNNING, FOR BREEZE’S SAKE!!”,  
“SORRY KI-ADI SIR, GOODBYE !!”, _**  
"NO SCREAMING EITHER !!”**_

She laughs as she runs off, carefree and guiltless. Rain hits hard on her skin once on the courtyard and the sky rumbles and growls out and she steps on the puddles, splashing other students in her tracks.

  
She couldn’t help but think that today was going to be a good day.


	2. Chapter I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The naive and cheerful Lotus is a clumsy young Huppermage, hungry for adventure and discoveries once she completed her first cycle at the Huppermage Academy. Ush is an Ecaflip with amnesia and with no recollection of his past.  
> After a fateful encounter, the two decide to embark on a journey to find Ush's lost memories.

It is in a small town of Bonta that the thunder rumbles. High in the sky, dark clouds cover the nation called The Divine, the rain streaming in the lands and fields, nourishing the local flora and fauna, running between the cobblestones of the towns, on the roofs of the houses, to end up then in the sewers. Schoolchildren run in the alleys, streets, and avenues, crossing the boulevards, using their satchels, books, anything they can find to protect themselves from the bad weather. Some -- young Huppermages --, barely out of Zaap, find themselves almost surprised, others groan instead. But although their reactions are all diverse, all, almost all, have the same sentence cursed past their lips, in different intonations.

_**" Chaos of Ogrest! "** _

  
Fifteen-year-old Lotus Maximillia Zolar is one of them. The child does not waste her time scrolling his arms out of her bag, lifting it up in panic above her head, before running at full speed in the square, joining the streets that take root deeper and deeper into the city. The sewers are overflowing, rats prowl in broad daylight, not knowing what to choose between their two ends on the menu: to die drowned, or in the fangs of a Bowmeow.  
Talking of Bowmeows, those are exactly what Lotus is looking for. The streets are full, every hour, of hungry hairballs, trembling in the cold - now surely they were desperately waiting for her, and perish the thought of leaving them out alone in the cold.

Contrarily to all expectations, the street was rather quiet this afternoon. No cats running right and left, no enemy meows or hisses, nor familiar purring or rubbing.  
Just silence. Which made the thing extremely curious, because the only way to truly get attention from these creatures was with food, that she had plenty of.  
  
" Kitty kitty! Where are you guys? "  
  
Although usually, those sounds would have attracted them, this time the Bowmeows didn't really pay attention to her. All had huddled around something, meowing softly, some perched on the edges of windows all around. Even on the rooftops, some were fixating the thing with their curious glances the thing.  
The instant Lotus got too close, some of the felines moved away, others came to rub against her ankles - still, others fled in turn, frightened.   
But, very quickly, she noticed what had caused all this commotion.

  
The front door opened and this movement was accompanied by the sound of a bell and wet footsteps on a waxed and dry floor. Running to the door at the far end of the store, she reaches for the stairs, still running fast, ignoring the cries of her stomach and the fresh smell of baked bread and croissants.  
  
"- Lotus, your shoes!  
\- Sorry mom!  
\- Take them off right away! You know the rules of the house, and I just cleaned up!  
\- Hold on!! "  
  
The brunette entered her room, swung her satchel on the floor and her headband on her desk, approached her bed after grabbing a clean cloth which she placed on the bed and, in turn, placed a Bowmeow on it.  
Black, with a silky coat - now damp and soiled by the streets, the animal appeared injured. It wasn't too big or too small, but looked slightly taller than the alley kittens - and something else, too, gave him a little something more. She couldn’t really put her finger on it, nor that it mattered. Not for now. Lotus wrapped it in the cloth, put it closest to the heater while still on her bed. She took a second to simply look at it again.  
  
"- Lotus !!  
- **In a minute !!** "

* * *

  
His awakening was slow and painful.

As shadows danced before his eyes, vision blurry, Ush could distinguish, little by little, the smells and colors around him. He felt the warmth of blankets, the softness of a bed - a change from the streets he had found himself before. He does not know how much time has passed since last time he lost consciousness, nor does he remember much of it. He does not have the strength to do so yet, and even keeping his eyes open was difficult enough.

… But he will open one of them anyway. Quickly he wondered where exactly he had found himself. Who had brought him here. The thought of someone wishing harm upon passed through briefly – but he realized that if this were the case, they could have finished him off pretty easily. It wouldn't make sense for someone to wait that long, even to accommodate him as much.  
He looked around the room, finally. A simple, slightly messy room – notebooks and papers piled up on the desk like a tower threatening to collapse, jars of pens and pencils accompanied the filing cabinets on the desk. A bag sat near the entrance, and a trash can, still near the desk, was full of trash – much of it paper. On a chair was placed a uniform – certainly school – completely soaked, and on the night table, a headband from Huppermage.  
So this is a Huppermage’s house. The person is young, and this room is quite childish, now that he thinks of it. The stuffed animals towering over him and adorning the bed affirmed that thought almost immediately.

But it was too late for him to make any other judgment or mental note, because the uncomfortable pressure on his stomach was enough to tell him that he was going to be lifted up. And that much he indeed was.  
  
"- You’re finally awake, aren’t you?" The voice is so loud and cheerful, and he’s quickly pressed against the unfamiliar face. "Gosh you’re sooo cute!"  
  
This was all too much for him. Ush cursed himself and whatever power was at play against him. But now, he knew who it was: a young girl, probably around his age. She had taken him back to her place after finding him …

"You’re gonna be even cuter after a bath!"

Okay. That was enough for him. The coddling, the babytalk and the overall familiarity were too much for him.   
And so arms grew longer, and so did legs. And he became heavier and heavier.  
Lotus had no choice but to let go and, confused, she fell on her rear. It took her a moment to realize that the one standing on her bed wasn’t a Bowmeow anymore – but a full-formed Ecaflip.

The sight of the weapon on his back made her want to scream, but the stranger was quicker. His hand pressed hard against her mouth, and so he leaned in, talking both slowly and in a low voice.  
  
"- Listen now and listen well kid, I’m not a Bowmeow, and I'd suggest you'd lose the babytalk, if you don't want to get hurt." She frowned in response, and his gaze became even harsher as a result.  
"I'm going to remove my hand, and you’re going to stay quiet, unless you want to –"

Except that she bit him.  
  
Teeth sinking into flesh were enough for the lad to yelp in both pain and surprise, and he immediately withdrew his hand. He stared at her in disbelief.

"What is wrong with you?!" His voice grew louder, but the girl was having none of it. It was clear from her expression that rather than being afraid, Lotus was angry. Offended, rather.  
  
"- First off, you shouldn’t talk like that to someone who just helped you out ! Second, Bowmeows are cute, and you’re being immensely rude."  
"- You bit me,” he reminded her.  
"- And lastly," This time, she got up and crossed her arms. With him on the bed, they rivaled in size. "You’re gonna have to tell me who the hell are you, or I’m going to scream."

This is unbelievable.

"- Are you serious." She nodded, keeping her chin up. This was not what he had expected. "I am a stranger and I’m armed."  
"- Well I’m the owner of the house and I can scream very loudly."

The Ecaflip put a hand on his forehead. Both exasperated … But, honestly, the small smile on his lips as he sighed was enough to prove that he was amused, too. He felt less pressure, somewhat.

"And I’d also like to know what happened to you," she added. "You were in pretty bad shape, y’know."  
And this kind of … Concern, was something he did not expect, either.

"I guess you win this time." And more relaxed. The least she deserved was to know his name, and he wouldn’t know what would have happened to him if she hadn’t taken him in. So, his name. His name. His ... 

He looked at the ground, silent. He slowly became wide-eyed as he tried to remember. Tried to remember what had happened before he passed out, before the violent shock he had received – but nothing. His mind was pitch-black, and he wouldn’t see anything else. Any attempt to remember anything ended in failure – and the more he tried, the more he persisted, and the more his head hurt. The Ecaflip ran a hand over his forehead, wincing in pain, a sign that a migraine was threatening to surface.  
  
"... I ... I don't ..." He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, no matter how confused and angry he felt. "I don’t remember anything."

Lotus stayed quiet, her expression shifting. From a stern one, to one that really did show the extent of her concern. Her face relaxed in worry, and she sat on the bed next to him after he dropped down. "Anything ? Nothing at all, are you ..." She felt bad for asking. "Are you sure?" He nodded.  
"... You don’t even remember your name?"

He opened his eyes once more. This one, he remembered. There was one part of his identity he did not forget, and it might be the most important one. At least, the road ahead wouldn’t have been walked in complete darkness.

It’s with hesitation that he answered her.

"Ush … I think my name is Ush."  
  


* * *

  
"- We don't have any visual on Ush. It would seem we have lost any sight of him after he entered Ecaflipus."  
"- That much was to be expected," The Enutrof simply stared at her nails, looking at the twins from the corner of her eye. "He's in a divine dimension, those were made by the Gods. And it's a place they don't want Twelvians to find so easily ... It, nor anybody who might reside in it. Doesn't take two brains to understand that, now doesn't it."  
"- We don't need him anyway! Good for us if he decides to be his lazy self again. He failed in his mission, just like Harebourg did. Why should we even concern ourselves with that vulgar cardsharp is above me."  
"- Quiet ..."

That was enough for the entire assembly to do as much, and all eyes went for the one who spoke. His blue robe shifted slightly while in thought, and then he spoke again.

"- No ... This is good, for now. This might even become helpful."

"Do you know what he's talking about?", whispered someone to the one next to them. "No idea. Honestly I've stopped asking myself what he says half the time a long while ago."

He ignored these remarks, even if he had heard them well enough. "Things will resume as expected and according to the original plan. We will not let this setback distract us ... But we will keep our brother in mind. But even he will understand that we are making history. And so, those who are not involved with the next phase of our plans can start searching for him. Once it will all be done, let us bring our brother back home. But for now, we can't let anything distract us."

**"Failure is not an option."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter is in !!! Told you this one was gonna come rather quickly.  
> As I've already written chapter 2, I will start translating and rewriting it pretty soon, but first I want to finish writing the third chapter and maybe advance on the fourth. Don't worry, I have the whole story planned out, I just haven't written all of it yet! But I like how this one turned out.
> 
> Comments are appreciated, and so are critics ! I'm always looking out for ways to improve myself.
> 
> Anyway see ya B) hope you enjoyed your lecture !!!


	3. Chapter II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The naive and cheerful Lotus is a clumsy young Huppermage, hungry for adventure and discoveries once she completed her first cycle at the Huppermage Academy. Ush is an Ecaflip with amnesia and with no recollection of his past.
> 
> After a fateful encounter, the two decide to embark on a journey to find Ush's lost memories.

****

**Before we begin, we would like to congratulate you.**

**The path you have chosen, one honoring of the Krosmic Balance and the Runes, is a difficult path that will test your various talents.  
** **Whatever route you want to take, it will be a road paved with difficulties and challenges. But it is by keeping your head up and testing yourself that you will be able to succeed. Because so is life.**

**This robe you have received signifies as much, and as our forces diminish with time, you young Huppermages are filling old hearts back with Hope. You have a duty to the Breeze as much as you have towards your community and yourselves.**

**Now, all rise. And share your revival with the world.**

* * *

“Ush. Ush, wake up.”

The morning greeted him with the Huppermage’s face looming over him from her bed, the sun peering from the horizon still and rays shying through the window. It was still a bit dark out, and the chilly air will soon be warmed up with the spring’s last breath. Summer was coming next.

During this first month of research, Ush had found nothing. In this small town lost in the middle of nowhere, it was pretty hard to find any kinds of useful information - the Galette’s Bridge was not very busy either: the town had at least one Zaap nearby, but tourists and adventurers were scarce. Nothing interesting to note concerning such a small village.

Every morning, they would wake up early, before her mother did. They’d have breakfast together as quiet as they could, so as not to raise suspicion, and after getting ready, they’d split up. He'd leave, and Lotus went to sleep again. And every morning, she ran to class, cursing for having missed the clock. But this was good – because thanks to the unchanging routine, her mother did not suspect a thing. She did think it weird that things in the pantry went missing at night, but Lotus convinced her those were just due to her midnight cravings.

“I’m awake. You don’t have to keep staring like that.” She smiles brightly in return, and he’s sure she was going to fall off the bed by how far down she was leaning towards him. Instead, she jumped out of her bed from the other side and made her way to the closet. She opened it and hummed proudly.

Ush had picked up that this was one of her ways to reclaim some attention for herself, and so he raised his head off his makeshift bed, looking as annoyed as always. “Alright, what is it.”

What Lotus was staring at so intently, was nothing but a white robe. Immaculate white adorned at the neck with the blue colors representing Bonta. Still, hilarious to think that she had to put on something so strict. Especially when you see her wearing pink polka-dotted Bermuda shorts as pajamas. Lotus turned around, still smiling brightly, hands on her sides.

“It arrived yesterday,” she said. “It’s my robe for the ceremony at the end of the year.” She grabbed the robe by its hanger before making her way to the mirror, placing the piece of clothing in front of her. She turned around once more. “How does it look?”

He couldn’t help but stare up and down. And he couldn’t help but scoff. “Lose the pink Bermudas and I guess you’d be somewhat presentable.” She blew a raspberry in response.

“You’re so mean!” Her eyes went to the dress again. “It’s a big thing y’know, a huge opportunity! There’s gonna be higher-ups from the community, and mom’s gonna be there too … Apparently, there’s also going to be a super important guest, and – where are you going?”

When she looked back at him, he already was one foot out of the window.

“Come on!!” This time, she yelled. “I’m pouring my heart out over here!! It’s important to me, and -”

She stopped herself through her yelling and looked back at her door, to which Ush sneered in response. “You’re going to wake your mom up if you keep screaming like that.” He smirked, before turning around to finish his climb out of the window. “I have to go look around some more. I’ll be back in the evening as usual.”

“...Wait.”

Ush stopped in his tracks and looked behind him again. This time, Lotus seemed a bit more serious – but she wasn’t angry, that’s for sure. But she was hesitating, that much he could tell. Her eyes trailed off, looking towards her bedroom door. “There’s something I kinda want to show you, first.”

Lotus had pulled him out of the bedroom, and they carefully walked down the first set of stairs. Madame Zolar was probably not there this morning, maybe she had gone shopping early, because she wasn’t here on this early Saturday morning. Or maybe was she still sleeping – either way, she did not want to risk it by checking.

Once on the ground floor, the two went through a small door, still connected to the stairwell. The wooden door creaked, which made Lotus grimace in response. Just behind it, more stairs. As they went down, Ush was now asking himself how many more secrets this house was hiding. He probably would have not been ready for what was about to come next. The Huppermage opened a door in the darkness, which led to an equally dark room.

Lotus hurriedly cast a spell – she was clumsy in her words and actions, but she thankfully didn't burn the house down, which was already a miracle in itself. Ush still remembered her mother's screams concerning her first school transcript. She summoned a luminous sphere, thus illuminating the surprisingly large room.

There were many books and objects of all kinds, some seemed rare, others less. But what interested Ush most was the egg located in the center of the room on a small altar, protected by a glass dome.

“- My father was an adventurer apparently." She walked to the altar with quick steps, then loomed over the glass dome. Blue light reflected on her excited eyes. “And while on a journey, he was able to obtain a Dofus!”

“- A Dofus?”  
“- It’s a dragon egg. It’s a great source of magic and Wakfu. It’s pretty amazing that my dad got his hands on it in the first place.”  
  


The Ecaflip couldn’t help but look at her curiously. She never mentioned her father. Nor were there any pictures or portraits of him around the house, nothing to remember him by – except this room, probably. She did talk somewhat fondly of him now, however.  
That made him wonder if he had a father to speak of, too.

"- They also say that dragons produce them as a symbol of true love. Which is why this was my dad’s wedding present to my mom.”  
"- That's one hell of a wedding present, your father must have been some kind of show-off."

The two leaned over the object a little more, detailing it further. He noticed the smooth surface of the egg and its blue color, but was intrigued by the hole at the top of it. A powerful gleam escaped from it, and he realized now that the shape itself was already quite peculiar.

“- But hey, it’s a Dofus! How cool is that?"  
"- You weren't kidding when you said this is some powerful stuff ..."  
"- Oh, you can feel it too, right? "

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but she was right about that.

“Why are you showing this to me?”

Lotus then had that look. Ush recognized it – the look she gets when she’s got a weird idea in mind, and she simply squinted in response, pressing her for an answer. An answer that she had to spit out, no matter what.

“- Well … I thought we could … Leave.”  
“- What’s that now?”  
“- I would like to know more about this Dofus. Just like I’d like to know more about my father. This is the last thing I’ve got of him. And you have to get your memories back, don’t you?!” She stepped closer, this time being the more pressing one of the two. “It’s been no dice for an entire month and it’s clear you’re not gonna find anything here, right? With this, we’re probably going to go a long way!”

Surprisingly, she … Was right. She was surely making sense in her thoughts, at the very least, and that fact alone was what startled Ush in the first place. Then, realization came over, and his shoulder dropped. He sighed.

She was unfortunately _**right**_. Happens only once in a blue moon, but it had to happen someday.

“- What about your mother?”  
“- Almost all the Huppermage scholars who graduated go on a trip at the end of their cycle. I can just say I’m doing the same! I’m old enough.”  
“- And you’re sure she’s going to accept that? And that she will let you leave with ...” He tilted his head towards the Dofus. “With this ?”

Lotus stared down at it in response.

“I don’t like the idea of it, but there’s only one way for me to get it.”  
  


* * *

Ush could not attend the rite of passage. This kind of event was restricted to the Huppermage community only and some close family members. Although the event had to be kept a secret, she was so overjoyed that she felt the need to share it with someone. That someone was Ush.

This year, apparently, the illustrious Joris was present. When Lotus came back, she was very excitedly telling him all about it, and by her reaction, it was clear that this was something extremely exciting and unusual. He did not pay too much attention to it.

She had returned after a full day of absence, when the sun was rising. She had spent the night at the Huppermage temple in Bonta with the rest of the students, or so wants the tradition.

“- … Lotus?”  
“- Yeah?”  
“- You did warn your mother about our project, didn’t you?”  
“- Yeah. I didn’t go too much into detail, but she agreed. We’re leaving in three days!”

Something told Ush that madame Zolar only agreed half-heartedly. “- Perfect. We’ll have to get ready. You remember what your part is?”

“- Yeah, yeah, I even wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget like you asked, I’m in charge of the food and you take care of the supplies, I know.”  
“- Great. I’m counting on you, so you really mustn't forget it.” He trailed off. “I think I have seen a merchant selling maps at the market ...”

“- Ush.” He looked up at her. She was already nestled under the covers, looking down on him. And she smiled brightly again. “I can’t wait for us to find your memories.”

A short silence settled between the two, during which the Ecaflip and the Huppermage stared into each other's eyes. The contact broke the moment Ush looked away to observe the window. He couldn’t help but smile.

“I'm looking forward to that too.”

* * *

  
In the morning at dawn, Lotus left the family home. It took a while for her mother to finally let go of her, but she finally did so after checking in for the fourth time that her daughter was not missing anything, that she had all the food she needed and any necessary supplies, and after kissing her daughter goodbye for thirty minutes. She was going to miss her. And this made Lotus feel guilty of leaving her.

But it was after yet another warm embrace that Lotus finally left, and walked down the paved road to leave her village.  
She tried not to cry, not to show any sign of weakness. Any sign that would have threatened to force her to turn back, and run in her mother’s arms. Lotus, sixteen years old, could do this, she thought.

Long after passing through the town’s arch, Lotus finally noticed her traveling companion waiting for her at the crossroads in front of the Zaap. With his arms crossed and his back leaning against the stone arch, the feline eyed the child seriously for a short moment before drawing a smile on his face. “Took you long enough.”

“I’m sorry …” She passed a hand in front of her eyes. In the end, she did cry a little. “I’m a bit late.”  
“- Did you get it?”

Lotus opened her Haven Bag, and looked inside. The Dofus was there, in plain sight. “I did. Mom was too busy with the preparations to notice anything.”  
This made Lotus feel _**guilty** _for stealing from her mother.

Ush nodded, satisfied. "Then we can leave."

"- Ready? Or do you need to cry some more?”  
“- Come on, don’t be so heartless!” She had found her smile back. “Don’t worry, there’s no turning back now. I’m ready.”  
“- That's what I like to hear. " He took a few steps away from her, towards the portal.

The Ecaflip took an object out of his pocket, which aroused the curiosity of his companion - what looked like a glass object in the shape of a drop. Ush made it jump in his hand, before throwing it directly in the middle of the Zaap.

A portal opened before the eyes of Lotus and his comrade, and she took a moment to take it all in. She was leaving, and leaving for good. She was getting what she sought after. Adventure, discoveries, and even more. All she ever dreamed off and fantasized about, and it was all coming to her.

Loto took one last look at the village of her childhood, that insignificant little corner of Bonta. And as much as it was insignificant, it was hers, and it was her home. Her heart sank, as she reassured herself that she would one day see the bridge and its inhabitants again.

However, she will not see this landscape again for a very long time.  
It was Lotus's turn to introduce herself to the unknown and turn her back on childhood.  
Because this was going to become her violent transition to adulthood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And !!! I'm finally done rewriting this. It took less longer than expected, but that's because these first chapters have been kind of short. I'm writing the third one still, and this one is longer for sure. But because it still isn't done, I will take some time to post it.
> 
> Still, we're finally getting into things! With this second chapter, the introduction is finally over, and we can get to the adventure part. Super grateful for the support I've gotten so far by the way, especially on twitter !!! I was very scared of posting all this, but the encouragement I've gotten from followers and friend is boosting my confidence greatly.
> 
> Aight ! 'Til next time, nerds B)


	4. Chapter III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The naive and cheerful Lotus is a clumsy young Huppermage, hungry for adventure and discoveries once she completed her first cycle at the Huppermage Academy. Ush is an Ecaflip with amnesia and with no recollection of his past.  
> After a fateful encounter, the two decide to embark on a journey to find Ush's lost memories.

After crossing the thin blue layer of the portal, Lotus found herself in a dense forest. The sun's rays, high in the sky, barely managed to penetrate through the thick layer of foliage, its very presence being marked by small unstable specks of light, dancing on the ground. Lush and green was absolutely omnipresent, and broad trunks of trees that might have been a hundred years old let their broad roots pierce the flat but uneven terrain. 

The Huppermage was the second to come out, hopping out of the Zaap and slowing down. Ush, in front of her, had arrived a few moments earlier, not even taking the time to look around. He quickened his pace, not seeming ready to wait.

"- Hey, wait for me, Ush !!" She picked up the pace, walking faster behind him as he got farther away. "Ush wait – AH!"

She crashed to the ground after tripping over a root. And to that, all Ush could do was sigh heavily and roll his eyes in annoyance. He half-turned, not bothering to position his feet in front of her, and watched as she spits dirt that had crept into her mouth while she gasped.

"- Unbelievable. It’s as if I’m watching you walk for the very first time." She heard her grumble in frustration in response. He ignored her, then stared at the trees.  
His index finger began to pat his arm underneath. That smell was… familiar, in a way. He tried to keep a cool head, despite the added edge of frustration. He had no memory of this place, besides, he would have thought he had never set foot here before, if it was not for …

_**"- Hey!"** _

Lotus's voice soon brought him back to reality. He looked up, and quickly guessed by her expression that she must have tried to call him several times, but that he had simply ignored her. With her fists on her waist, she looked like a disappointed yet irritated boss. And she made it a point to tower over him. His ears flattened slightly on his head, a slight grimace appearing on his face. Damn it.

"- I've been calling you for two minutes!"  
"- You’re being dramatic."  
"- Ush," she sighed as she spoke his name, repositioning her feet flat on the floor, finally relaxing. This discussion was going nowhere anyway, and there was something more important to discuss on. "Do you know where we are?"

For once, she did have a good question to ask. However, with how limited his answer was, as well as his memories, he couldn’t really answer her properly. But, do not believe for a second that Ush spent the last month lazying around. On the contrary.

"- I have no idea." Once again, he ignored her groan. "But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t know this place before."  
"- What do you mean ?"  
"- I seriously wonder how you managed to pass your first cycle." That, and the incidents she caused at the academy – he had been made aware of a few of those. "To have access to a Zaap, you must have already used it once. To get to a certain Zaap, you have to think of it."  
"- That doesn’t explain how we get there – I don't want to point out the obvious, but you don’t remember anything, Ush."  
"- I'm getting to it. When I activated the portal, I did not think of a specific place. Which could mean that my subconscious chose the place for me, or ..."  
"- Or that we got to a random place?"  
"- Yes."  
"- And it will happen again."  
"- Most probably."

The Huppermage opened her mouth slightly with a little ‘ooh’ in response – meaning that she finally understood it all. After all, now that she thought about it, it was true that Ush had the build of an adventurer. Or someone that went pretty far, at the very least. His clothes, his gear – she did not forget about the swords on his back. Plus, he just looked strong. He wasn’t tall that was for sure, hell, she was even taller than him, but that didn’t really mean anything, other than she could feel superior at that regard.  
Lotus wouldn't have been surprised to know he had traveled once.

Something had moved between the leaves. Ush heard it long before she did, one of his ears twitching at the foreign sound. Both turned around – the Huppermage later than her comrade – and Lotus's eyes followed her mate's.

"- Something’s here."  
"- Hey, put those away!" she exclaimed as she saw him unsheathing his sabers, putting a hand on one of them to lower it. "It’s probably just a small animal or something, jeez! We’re in a forest!"  
"- You don’t know that for sure –"  
"- I’ll just go check it out you big baby, you’ll see!"  
"- Lotus!!"

She walked to the bush … Then heard some rustling again. The bush next to it started to move, then the next one again. Which prompted the girl to hurry and run towards the source.

What was this idiot doing, exactly, was beyond him.

"Gotcha!!"

She plunged in yet another bush, hands out and head first, going to grab for the nearest wiggling thing she could find and squeeze it as hard as she could. Her head hurt.  
… But she did catch something. She opened an eye.

The thing was tiny, for sure. She could hold it with both of her hands, and it wasn’t heavy at all. It had big eyes, and what seemed like weird, viscous whiskers … Lotus couldn’t help but fine its tiny straw hat very adorable. What she couldn’t notice was the creature shivering in fear, its gelatinous body wriggling in a semi-liquid fashion, like a custard.

"Oooooh he's sooo cute!"

Ush's swords were still down, ignoring his comrade's earliest comments, although in reality, he sensed that no danger emanated from the frightened creature. But he did feel embarrassed by the Huppermage’s reactions. 

The thing shivered a bit, even screamed, before suddenly melting in her hands.

"Eeew, what is –"

It melted all into a puddle on the ground, and the greenish creature soon reformed in front of her eyes … And then it started to run, run for its dear life.  
  
"- Hey, wait!!" She got up, quickly.  
"- Lotus, what the hell are you doing?!"

The Bontarian started to run again, and Ush’s hand wasn’t fast enough to catch her, so it just hung in the air, motionless. She didn’t stop for him, instead going in deeper into the foliage. And once again, Ush was at a loss, but he let himself be carried away, and ran after her himself, screaming her name.

"- Lotus, wait!!"  
  


* * *

  
_He had to come home. They were there, they were there. If they ever followed him, if they caught up o him, it would have been over, it was all over._ _Surely the village would have been equipped to face them, but would he survive ‘til then? He looked behind him – panting in fear, he saw the huge, grotesque figure of the young girl right behind him, her shining eyes perfectly reflecting his fragile little body, and sprinted once again as he saw her hands come closer to him._  
This caused the little Lotus to find herself once again on the floor, her arms outstretched on the floor.

"But I told you to wait! I don't want to hurt you!!" _Yeah, like he was going to believe that!_

Her giant steps shook the ground and fallen leaves, raising dust and gravel in her path. He had to hold on – he felt fear threatening to melt him once more, and little by little he would be reduced to a poor puddle on the ground, unable to move. But he had to hold on, and most importantly – he had to be brave. 

Finally, he passed through a last row of bushes, and she followed him in blind.  
Further back, Ush heard screams of various intonations, but the most prominent one was his comrade's shrill.

God damn it.

He quickened his pace, gritting his teeth. They had just arrived, their journey had only just begun, and she was already getting into trouble. It just had to happen this way, and parts of him were starting to regret the whole ordeal. 

"- Lotus!" He called out once more.

He leaped out of the bushes, and the sun was almost blinding him.  
In front of him stood a miniature village, lost in the fields. Everything was terribly small: the houses, the well, the utensils, and the fences. The only exception was the gigantic statue covered with a white sheet, which stood yards away, at the center of the village – and speaking of which, the villagers were proportioned to the town. 

  
"- But I’m telling you, I wasn’t trying to hurt him!!" Lotus was tied to the ground. Ropes were skillfully tied around her form, then nailed to the ground, and he quickly recognized some kind of trap keeping her feet bound. That must have explained how she fell in the first place. _**"– AOUTCH!!"**_ One of the villagers poked her arm with a fork. “Keep that thing away from me, you brute !!”  
She sure had a way to make him regret all this more and more as the second passed. Ush squinted, lowered his weapons beside him. He should have run away from her house months ago.  
Unfortunately for him, letting his guard down proved to be a fatal mistake.

"- There he is!!" A voice shrieked and soon caught his attention. "Fire!!"

He saw Lotus's expression change, her eyes widening in fear as she stared at him, her mouth open to scream, but unable to release any sound. He felt a sudden pain pierce his neck, and although it only lasted a few moments, Ush pressed his paw to his skin, ripping off what had just planted itself in him.

His vision blurred as he watched the plucked stinger between its claws, and the world shifted around him.  
He already knew what this meant.  
His body fell heavily on the ground, and his friend’s screams were heard as if coming from afar.

For yet another time, Ush awoke with pain and difficulty, and with the unpleasant sensation that someone had fun using his brain like a drum. He growled and winced, trying to move, but soon found himself unable to do so.   
He looked around weakly, his gaze flickering right and left. He was in an upright position, Lotus was on his right. She was safe.  
But she was also tied to a pole, her hands behind her back. He looked down, and quickly realized he was in the same exact situation.

"- You have some nerve!"

He looked up. In front of him stood the same kind of creature as the critter of earlier today. Some were taller, others smaller, or even the size of a single ball of yarn. But the one who he assumed to be the leader sat on a braided wooden plate and was lifted up by his own. He could have almost seemed impressive – although, that much was hard with his general size – and he spoke directly to him, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. He recognized his voice from earlier. He was the one that gave the command to strike him down.

"- Do you just have any idea of what you’ve done?!" Ush’s head started to hurt a little bit more. "You both should be **ASHAMED** of yourself!!"

He could feel Lotus's puzzled gaze on him, and he simply shrugged in response. He was just as confused as she was. 

"- But sir," Lotus began softly. She was trying to be polite. "We're just passing by, we're sorry to have disturbed you. But I think you have the wrong person you see, we’ve just..."  
"- This is a **SCANDAL**!!" The small puddle squealed, forcing Lotus to close her eyes. Some of his goo splattered on her cheek. Ew. "Do not even **TRY** to excuse yourselves!! You **KNOW** what you did, you criminals! **FELONS**!!" This time, Lotus was the one that squinted a little bit. Because this made absolutely no sense.

"- We have no idea what you’re talking about! So if you SLOB could be a little bit more **DESCRIPTIVE** – !!" Her wriggling and screaming must have alarmed some of the little creatures, because many of them raised hollow canes in her direction.

The same one I was struck with, Ush thought.

Lotus shrieked again, this time as still as a statue, but visibly pale. The chief cleared his throat. Now that silence had fallen once more, he had the center of the stage for himself. 

"- A few weeks ago," he began, "Percimol, protector of our village, and savior of the Puddlies, came back to the Mountain."  
"- I presume this should be a good thing ?" Lotus was right. It should be. But with the look that Puddly was giving her, he was most certain that he wasn’t.

"He brought down his wrath on our village."

This time, Lotus took a second to look around the village a bit more carefully. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it – being tied down and all – but now, it was clear: it was subtle, but there were signs of destruction. The village had time to rebuild itself. She looked at the statue.  
This one barely survived one of the attacks.

"- EVERYONE **KNOWS** ," he screamed again, so he could get their undivided attention once more, and it worked, because Lotus looked down, directly at him. "That this fit of anger can only mean one thing! Someone **MUST** have desecrated his grounds and our sacred mountains! And who do we find but you lot, hiding in the forest?!"

This explained the traps and how ready they were for combat. The Puddlies had been searching for the cause for long, and they know their forest is deep and thick.   
And with how their leader’s intellect is … It isn’t surprising that they jumped at the very first strange adventurers they met. Especially with how Lotus made her entrance. 

"- But wait! Wait a second!! This is dumb and it makes absolutely no sense!!" She wasn't wrong on that one. "You have absolutely no proof of what you’re saying! We told you we’ve just arrived, and – ”  
"- As if I'm going to believe such an obvious lie!! We’ve caught you right there and then, and that is enough for me! The Puddlies want justice, and they’re going to have it."

Several villagers shouted in unison behind him, no longer seeming to tremble at the presence of both the giant Ecaflip and the even bigger Huppermage. Ush sighed; capital punishment or not, he could have gotten rid of them in no time. He could even have escaped now, if he wanted to, but couldn't have rescued Lotus.  
So instead, he grinned a little. "Hey. Hopefully, it’s going to take them a while to gather all their small rations oil to boil us in." That was his way of deescalating the atmosphere, try to get both their heads in the game and devise a plan.  
… Except that when he looked at Lotus, he just realized then how red with anger she was.

"- As if I’m gonna accept that!!" Lotus screamed at the top of her lungs. "This isn’t justice!! Come here you rubbish of a leader, I demand you turn around!!" Her feet flew and kicked the air in anger. This time, not even the threat of the canes was near enough to keep her in place, and the villagers had all taken a gigantic step back. "I said, _**turn around before I make a Taur suck you up with a straw from his nose!!**_ " She trashed around even more. 

But, good news. She got the attention she wanted. And the leader’s greenish colors soon turned to red, too.  
  
"- You little rascal!!" He yelled. He really got up in her face, or at least tried to. He was barely reaching above her knees. "I should throw both of you in a pit full of spikes!!"  
"- Well I should be crushing your little face with a rock, what about that?!"  
"- You think I’m going to let you get away with such foul language?!" She blew a raspberry at him, even reached her face down, as to level her eyes with his. Obviously, she was just trying to show him how small he was compared to her. She was playing with her height again. He became even redder, if that were even possible. "Hasn’t anyone taught you to respect your elders?!" Both of them were equaled in childishness. "I should have Percimol smite you down, the both of you!!"

Ush figured that for now, he should have been quiet, even though the old man's shrill cries along with Lotus's very own were starting to seriously play with his temper.

"- Then let’s do just that!" She straightened herself up, even got all straight, with her chin up. "Let us find your Percimol and calm him down! If we’re really that guilty, he isn’t really going to miss us with that big hammer of is, is he?!"

Once again, the village sage narrowed his eyes harshly, staring at her insistently. Maybe he was trying to read her, to find out her true intentions, to see if she wasn't trying to fool him. Lotus squinted just as hard, hardened her expression as much as she could. Her glare was intense. Ush had never seen anything like it.

Finally, after a short silence that seemed to last forever, the elder groaned and rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers, and the ropes fell at their feet. They were finally free.

"- I still think you're going to take that opportunity to escape." They immediately got their equipment back. Ush’s swords and Lotus’s Haven bag. "But I'll give you until sunset tomorrow. And if you don't live up to your end of the bargain ..."  
"- You’ll see," Lotus said quickly, slipping the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "You’ll have Percimol telling you himself of our innocence."  
"- Good ! Now out of sight, before I change my mind !!"

Ush felt the need to slice him in two somehow, but Lotus pulling on her arm was enough to keep him away from doing so.  
  


* * *

"- Thankfully, they are as naive as they are stupid."

The village chief having granted them his pardon, Ush and Lotus quickly excused themselves from the perimeter, running again towards the forest. They had given them back their equipment, they had let them go unsupervised. For Ush, it was perfect, because this was the perfect occasion to finally leave. After all, it was the most logical thing to do: they would have found nothing here, that much was certain, and nothing was forcing them to live up to their end of the bargain. 

However, Lotus and Ush didn't seem to see eye to eye to that. His eyes grew wide when he saw her pull out a map.  
  
"- I must have asked this today already, but what the hell are you doing?"  
"- I'm trying to figure out where we are," she turned the map upside-down for a moment. "So we can locate Percimol more easily."

Heaving an annoyed sigh, Ush moved closer to her, peering at the map in her hands. Given the serious look on her face, she was going to do exactly the opposite of what he wanted: respect their end of the bargain. Nothing too surprising: Lotus was honest, sincere. She was the type to keep her word, or at least going down trying her best.  
Must be why she passed her first cycle in the first place.

"- We’re not doing that," he said. "We are going to take the Zaap. And we’re ..." Without looking at him, she evaded one of his attempts to snatch the map away from her.   
"- We could start by going there."

She aimed above the trees and the forest, pointing directly at a mountain range. Imposing, the taller one seemed to be watching them both carefully, patiently … Almost menacingly. The forest continued to climb its rocky surface, covering the bottom of the mountain then dying as it went on.

"They did say that their sacred grounds was in the mountains."

Ush lowered his ears, and his shoulders with them. Once more, Lotus ignored him and began to walk instead, eyes still glued to the map. After a few steps of walking alone, she turned around, and finally looked at him.

"- Come on ! It’s not gonna climb on its own, and we don’t have much time!"

The Ecaflip stood there for a few moments, his back bent, his eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth slightly parted. Then, finally, he rolled his eyes, clicked his tongue against his palate, and finally began to walk.  
It was going to be a long road, and the midday sun was high in the sky. Ush knew it was just a matter of a handful of hours because it would start to set.  
  


* * *

  
It was only the first day. The ascension was still difficult. The climb was tough, and the child's sweating red face was more than enough to prove it. She held onto the nearby rocks and walls, panting copiously as she walked.

"- Uuuuush, my feet hurt!" He didn’t answer. "Uuuush!"  
He groaned. "- Are you done complaining? We just started climbing." That wasn't true. It's been a while already.  
"- Help me a little, I’m not as strong as you!"  
"- In your dreams, princess." With how capricious she was, this one rather fit well. And once he saw her annoyed face, he was certain it was going to stick. "Shall I remind you that you put yourself in such a situation? You insisted we did this. You brought this upon yourself."

She rolled her eyes as he spoke, at least she had still enough energy to be her childish self. For him, this meant that she could still climb after all.  
But Lotus's prayers were soon answered. The rocky path gradually disappears to merge into a plateau. Almost empty of life, if only for the emerald green of the pasture occasionally pierced by rocks and a small herd of Gobballs not far from there. They barely looked at them, too busy munching on grass.

"Guess you’re lucky today," Ecaflip remarked. "I think this is a good enough spot for us to rest tonight. We climbed enough." … For Lotus standards. He was still full of energy, and could easily have kept climbing. If nothing, he could have reached the peak by now, but Lotus was slowing him down, which took a toll on both time and energy. The sun was about to set anyway, just like he had predicted.

They had settled under a natural construction closer to the mountain. In the middle of the pasture, three rocks built an ideal shelter for the night and the storm, if there ever was to be one. However, the sky was clear, so it would have been good enough to keep them away from the cold. Lotus had put down her bag, suddenly lively as she hummed softly, getting ready for the night.

"- I thought you were exhausted, but you’re quick on your feet."  
"- Whatever." She got a little bit defensive.  
"- Didn’t you ask me to carry you a few minutes ago?"  
"- I didn’t!" Her cheeks became a little bit pinker, and he guessed she was both flustered and peeved. She was easy to read. He chuckled instead, and shook his head slightly.

She was about to complain again, but both stopped any sudden movement as they heard the growl of a beast. Ush's gaze fell on his mate's stomach, and so did hers. Her stomach rumbled again.  
Her famished stomach was the beast. 

"- By Ecaflip."  
"- I didn’t eat much today..." And they did skip lunch. And they did climb for a while.

He rolled his eyes. The girl's stomach growled again, more fiercely this time. This was more natural, and because he understood, he tried to make no comments on the matter – even if the occasion to do so was right there.

His eyes looked at the bunch of Gobballs a little bit ahead. They hadn’t moved much since they’ve been there, and they still weren’t considering them a threat, while still keeping their distance from them.  
"… I got it," he said. He grabbed his swords, and Lotus stared down at them. Her hand held his wrist.

"- What are you doing?"  
"- I’m obviously going to hunt." He gave her a questioning look. "Just stay here and get ready for the night, maybe try not to burn the whole pasture down."  
"- Don’t do that, leave them alone!! I don’t want to eat them!! They’re so peaceful and they’ve done nothing!!"  
"- How is this different from the steaks you ate back at home?!"  
"- **It’s called living in denial!!** " Her raising her voice made a few Gobball heads turn. They soon went back to eating.

This time, Ush was ready to protest, and it was his turn to look a little bit more angry than usual. But Lotus soon turned to her bag, and set it between them. "My mom gave us food before leaving, remember?"

So she did. She had packed a few sandwiches already prepared for them, but there were other things, too. Full ingredients, from vegetables to fruits, but even some cheese, some ham and a string of sausages. Her mother really did make sure she wasn’t missing anything, and if she did, Lotus could have afforded it. She could have managed herself on her own for a month with all that.  
Except that there were two of them, and so, it wouldn’t have lasted as long. Ush already prepared himself for such circumstances to come, and it was clear that he was the most responsible out of the two. As much as he didn’t like it sometimes, they were a team.

Finally, he planted both his swords on the ground, and sat down once more. "Fine," he said. "But you really need to stop this whole living-in-denial thing, because we’re in the wild now. And hunting is also part of the journey."

"Well I’ll try to avoid that as much as I can, thank you very much."

She tossed him the bread, and they ate in silence. While she was resourceful, his regrets from earlier started to manifest again. With someone so innocent, so childish, so reckless and clumsy at his side, it would take him years before finding even a grain of clues when it came to himself, or better yet his memories. The first day they had spent out already felt like a whole week by itself, and because of how long the climb took because he had to wait for her, he was more tired than he would have been if he had gone ahead on his own.  
For now, she didn't bring much to the table. In fact, if Ush had to be completely honest, he would say that she was useless to him.   
The selfish idea to ditch her came to mind, but something kept him still. Maybe it was because he felt like he owed her that much.

Lotus tried to start a conversation a few times, but it didn’t work. He could feel her disappointment as the fire she made started to die out, but the still hot coal wasn’t enough to warm up the cold shoulder they were giving to each other.

And because they were too exhausted from the day and too focused on each other’s flaws, they didn’t feel a set of cold eyes staring at them from the top of the trees, before silently vanishing in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to make this one longer. The chapter normally should have been way longer, but I decided to cut it down since it would have been a better read in two parts.  
> Thanks for checking in and reading! I'm still super happy with the support I've gotten 'til now and I keep on keeping this going. It's a good writing challenge and I think I'm getting the hang of it.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I've been working on for a few years now, and it is oh so dear to my heart. The relationship between Ush and Lotus is something very important to me, and it is a story I want to tell, but I've been extremely bashful of it for the longest time. I hope that you'll find this story enjoyable to read as much as it was to write ! I also would like to point out that I am extremely new to AO3. I don't know what I'm doing, at all. And I would like also to precise that English is my third language, and that I'm trying my best aha. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this prologue of sorts ! Which is why this is incredibly short, I'm trying to find my marks on this website while also ... Well this is the first fanfic I write in English, too. 
> 
> I'll see you guys on the next chapter ! This one is gonna come real soon, I just need to translate what I already wrote and fix some minor details.


End file.
